The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector assembly and, more particularly, to such an assembly that is connected to an input/output connector mounted at the rear end of an IC (integrated circuit) card.
Copending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/169,682, filed Dec. 17, 1993, entitled "Connector Assembly for IC Card," assigned to the assignee of the present application, discloses a connector assembly which is connectable to an input/output connector of an IC card. The card may be a PCMCIA card of the type that is mounted in a port in the side of a lap-top computer. In such connector assembly, a latching mechanism is provided, including a pair of spaced latch arms extending forwardly from the assembly, with a slidable rod that, when moved to a forward position between the latch arms, prevents the arms from being disconnected from the input/output connector of the IC card. When the rod is retracted to a rear position in the connector assembly, the latch arms are allowed to collapse, thereby permitting the connector assembly to be disconnected from the IC card.
The latching mechanism of such prior connector assembly relies on the travel distance of the rod to lock and unlock the assembly to the corresponding input/output connector of the IC card. As a result, the overall profile, or length, of the connector assembly is dictated by the length of the rod, and the distance required to slide the rod between its locked and unlocked position. As a consequence, the length or profile of the connector assembly is somewhat greater than is desired by some users.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly for coupling to an IC card, which allows the assembly to have a relatively short profile.
It is another object of the invention to provide a connector assembly having fewer parts than exists in the connector assembly disclosed in the aforementioned pending patent application.